1. Technical Field
This invention relates to solid material transport trailers and, more particularly, to a bidirectional side dump trailer which includes a wheeled frame on which is pivotally mounted a containment tub, the pivot axis for the tub being generally parallel with the longitudinal axis of the wheeled frame. The tub is releasably secured to the frame on opposite sides thereof to allow for rotation of the tub to be left or right of the frame. The pivotal support connectors which allow for rotation of the tub consist of a pin and sleeve combination, the sleeve rotatably mounted on the pin, the combination sitting in a saddle on the wheeled frame, the pin rotatably connected to the tub such that the sleeve, when seated in the saddle, remains in a fixed position while the pin rotates within the sleeve. Finally, a lifting device such as an hydraulic cylinder is mounted extending between the frame and the tub for rotating the tub about the pivotal support connectors for dumping of material within the tub.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different types of trailers have been proposed and used in the moving of rock, dirt, gravel, and other types of solid materials. These trailers included such designs as the commonly-used rear dump trailer which includes a trailer dump body and an opening end gate for releasing the solid materials contained within the body. The forward end of the body is elevated by a hydraulic cylinder or the like in order to dump materials from within the trailer body. Of course, the major disadvantage associated with such rear dump trailers is that the solid material, when dumped, may only be deposited directly behind the dumping trailer thus severely restricting the usefulness of the trailer for any other purpose.
For example, when road construction is being undertaken, it is often necessary to dump large loads of rock and gravel along the sides of the elevated roadbed to prevent erosion of the roadbed. For conventional rear dump trailers to perform this operation would be very difficult due to the need for the trailer to be backed up to the edge of the road bed, dumped and then driven forward once more. There is therefore a need for a trailer which can perform such dumping operations with greater economy.
To overcome the problems encountered with the use of rear dump trailers, one directional side dump trailers were constructed. These side dump trailers did allow solid materials to be dumped from the side of the trailer rather than through the rear of the trailer, but the side dump trailers of the prior art still included numerous disadvantages. For example, several of the side dump trailers in the prior art do not dump solid materials far enough away from the trailer to preclude interference of the solid materials with the transport of the trailer. Furthermore, as the side dump trailers of the prior art only dump to one side, for the operator of the trailer to dump on another side of the rear bed requires him or her to reverse the direction of the trailer. Finally, several of the unidirectional side dump trailers do not include locking mechanisms to secure the solid material containment body in a transport position.
Rogers, U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,214, discloses a side dump trailer which can dump materials from either side of the trailer. The Rogers trailer, however, includes several deficiencies. For example, although the Rogers trailer permits side dumping from either side of the trailer, the operator of the trailer must exit the cab of the towing vehicle to engage or release the J-shaped slides which, when engaged, permit the trailer body pivot to the left or the right of the trailer. This greatly decreases the efficiency with which the materials may be dumped by the Rogers trailer. Also, the Rogers trailer includes mounting pins which sit in saddles on the frame to permit rotation of the tub on the trailer. The pins and saddles frictionally engage one another while rotating, which causes wearing of the pins and saddles, thus mandating replacement or failure of the unit could occur. Finally, the length and shape of the tub of Rogers is impractical and inefficient, due to the long length of the tub (necessary to extend over the wheels), the center reinforcement structure in the tub which extends above the top walls of the tub and thus prevents use of the tub for carrying long cargo such as logs and such and the increased height of the end walls necessary to accommodate the long length of the power cylinders. There is therefore a need for an improved bidirectional side dump trailer which addresses and solves the deficiencies found in the Rogers trailer.
An object of the present invention is thus to provide an improved bidirectional side dump trailer.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bidirectional side dump trailer which includes a wheeled frame on which is pivotally mounted a containment tub, the containment tub mounted such that it may be dumped to the left or right of the frame.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bidirectional side dump trailer in which the containment tub is mounted on the frame by a pair of supports on each side of the containment tub such that the containment tub may pivot and dump materials a sufficient distance from the wheeled frame so as to not interfere with the operation of the trailer.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bidirectional side dump trailer in which the releasable securement of the tub to the frame is capable of being remotely controlled so that an operator of the trailer may dump from either side of the trailer without having to exit the cab of the towing vehicle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bidirectional side dump trailer which includes a pin and sleeve combination for pivotably mounting the tub on the frame, the sleeve rotatably mounted on the pin, the combination sitting in a saddle on the wheeled frame, the tub being rotatably connected to the pin such that the sleeve, when seated in the saddle, remains in a fixed position while the pin rotates within the sleeve.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide a bidirectional side dump trailer which is less expensive to manufacture than those devices found in the prior art and is safe and efficient in use.